July 14, 2013 Sunday
Day 7
We crossed the border into Alberta about 10:30am. Immediately we saw lush farmland, with grazing cattle & horses. Dotting the landscape were grain elevators (which for some reason, really catch our eye) and a good many bee boxes as well; the bee boxes are painted bright colors, unlike the white ones we saw in the US. Most striking to us were the wide swaths of brilliant yellow rapeseed (canola) fields. These fields are so bright & glorious, especially juxtaposed against green pastures in front and the purple Canadian Rockies in the distant background. The road is essentially flat, there is very little wind. We averaged 12.8mpg all the way to Calgary; which will help out a bit, now that we are in Canada where fuel is $1.18 a liter (so far, that is).

Calgary, whew! traffic is such a contrast to our experiences of the past few days, where we have had literally no traffic. It reminds us of Atlanta traffic, which we have not missed since we left Atlanta 2 1/2 years ago. We happily left Calgary & got on Hwy 1, Trans Canada Hwy, W towards Banff and Banff National Park, where we will take a little break & spend 2 nights.
We set up camp, unhooked the car , then took off for the short drive into Banff. Quaint little (tourist) town with great shops & restaurants.

People begin each statement with "so" & they say "no worries" a lot. Cute accents.
We headed for the Bow River Trail at the edge of town & walked for an hour or so along the river to Bow Falls. Then we walked back to town, ate Thai at Bamboo Palace-fresh, ingredients, calm atmosphere on the outdoor balcony overlooking the street below. Popped into the grocery store after dinner, then headed to camp for wine by candlelight in our camper. It rained hard through the night; sleep is so nice listening to the raindrops on our roof. No worries . . .

250 miles today

Wildlife Sightings
Magpies

Flattened Fauna (Roadkill) Report
Crow